Promotion Push

Osceola County will spend $150,000 of its resort-tax rainy day fund for the privilege of being named the official sponsor of the Presidential Inaugural Parade in two weeks at Walt Disney World.

Originally canceled because of bitter cold in Washington, D.C., last January, the May 27 event will bring 2,800 high-school marching band musicians to Central Florida.

Chances are good that Osceola will reap some long-term benefits. Its generosity simply is a promotional effort designed to take advantage of the considerable publicity accompanying President Reagan's visit.

There will be signs, T-shirts, programs and news releases specifying that the event is being presented by the Kissimmee/St. Cloud Resort Area. Mr. Reagan is expected to come, but his presence will not be confirmed until just beforehand.

When out-of-state newspaper, magazine, television and radio reporters arrive, Osceola's tourism officials are hoping that they will distribute reports with the dateline KISSIMMEE, rather than ORLANDO.

That is a campaign that has been waged since mid-1978, when the Kissimmee/ St. Cloud Convention and Visitors Bureau first began operating. Competing with the instant name-recognition of Orlando is not easy.

Travel agents may know about this county. But surveys of vacationers staying at Osceola hotels have shown that they did not know what the Kissimmee/St. Cloud area was. They knew only that they were somewhere near Disney World.

Disney is a longtime friend of Osceola County. Still, it bears noting that Disney's promise to promote Osceola came on the heels of strong complaints from Osceola residents who were not thrilled to learn that Disney already had booked all 2,800 musicians into Orange County hotel rooms.

Orange County, by the way, is spending all of its resort tax money to retire $50 million in bonds on its convention center, with none for such promotions.

In the future, Disney should direct more business to Osceola. Orange County also could see to it that Osceola doesn't shoulder more than its share of the promotional burden.